Kickout device for wrapping machines



June 20, 1944. o. SANl DBERG 2,351,879

KICK-OUT DEVICE E 'OR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Dec., 24, 1941 2 Sheets- Sheet 1' INVENTOR. 0500/7 ficuzdfg,

June 20, 1944. 1 SANDBERG 2,351,879

KICK-OUT DEVICE FOR WRAPPING MACHINES Filed Dec. 24, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

0500] fianalefg; @m 3. 22%

lzatented June 20, 1944 "KICKOUT DEVICE FOR WRAPPING MACHINES 8 Oscar Sandberg, Defiance, Ohio, assignor to Lynch Manufacturing Corporation, Defiance, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 24, 1941, Serial No. 424,285

' imam. (91209-121 My present invention has to do with a kickout device for article supporting cards, and is particularly applicable to a wrapping machine of the kind shown in my co-pending application Serial No. 317,370, filed February 5,1940, of which the present application is a continuation-in-part.

One object of the invention is to provide simple and inexpensive -mechanism which may be mounted ina wrapping machine to kick out an article supporting card therefrom whenever there is no article on such card, the cards andarticles being successively fed to wrapping position by a conveyor having pockets-to receive the cards and articles.

A further'object is to provide kick-out mechanism forms in connection with a card and article conveyor which consists of a kick-out arm adapted to engage a card under the constraint of a relatively light spring to tip the card to a position where it will slide out of the pocket if there is no-article on it, the presence of an article efiecting retention of the card in position against the biasof the spring whereby only those cards-that do nothave articles on them are discharged from the article and card conveyor.

Still another object is to provide an operative connection between the card kick-out device and a periodically operating element, such as a rock shaft, of thewrappingmachine-to remove the card kick-out device'from operative position during the time that one card ismoving forward from kick-out position and another card is moving to kick-out position. I v I With these and other objectsin view, my invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are at-, tained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of a wrapping machine such as disclosed in my parent application showing only the parts essential to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an end View of Figure 1 taken from the left hand end of the figure and showing the card kick-out device in inoperative position; and

Figure 3 is a similar View showing it in positon for operation by dotted lines, and in its operative position by full lines.

My machine has to do with the wrapping of articles, for instance, candy bars of the type commonly sold in drug and grocery stores. For complete details of the wrapping machine my parent application is referred to. Certain parts of that application find their counterpart in the present application and bear the same reference numerals;

The wrapping machine includes vertical frame members F, which may bemade of cast steel or p the like and rigidly connected by cross-members (not shown in this'specification). Journaled in the frame members F is a main drive shaft 24. The drive shaft 24 has secured thereto a gear 26. The gear 26 meshes with a pinion 28 on a countershaft 38. A pulley 32 is secured to the countershaft and is driven by a belt 34 from any suitable source of power, such as a motor (not shown).

A bar and card conveyor chain 58 is provided, which chain is provided with pockets 68 to receive the respective candy bars or-the like B. The conveyor chain 58 traverses sprockets 62 and 64, and is driven intennittently in synchronism with the drive shaft 24 by a chain 68 and associated mechanism, which will now be described. The associated mechanism includes a sprocket 18 mounted on a shaft 12; A star wheel 13 is also secured to the shaft 12 and provided with slots 14. i

A crank arm 88 is mounted on a shaft 86 and carries a crank pin 82. The crank pin 82 is adapted each revolution of the shaft 86 to enter one of the slots 14 and effect a '60-degree turn of the shaft 12. A disk 19 is mounted on the shaft 86 andis provided with a. concavity 18 to permitsuchGO-degree movement of the shaft 12. During the major portion ofv a revolution of the shaft 86 a concavity 82 of the star wheel 13 ooacts with theperforated tion of the star wheel.

The shaft 86 is driven in synchronism with the main drive shaft 24 by a sprocket 88, a, chain 90 and a sprocket 92. The sprocket 92 is secured to a shaft 94 which is driven by bevel gears 96 and 98 from the shaft 24. Thus, one revolution of the shaft 24 effects one revolution of the shaft 86 and one-sixth revolution of the shaft 12 each cycle of operation. A one-sixth revolution of the shaft I2 effects movement of one of the pockets to the position of the preceding pocket, whereby the pockets are successively presented at any given point, one for each cycle of operation of the wrapping machine.

A shaft 1 I6 is included in the wrapping machine for operating the wrapping instrumentalities shown in my parent application. The shaft "-6 is rocked each cycle of operation by a crank H1 carrying a roller I28, which roller cooperates with a slot I22 of an arm I23. The arm I23 disk 19 to prevent rotais pivoted on a stud shaft I24 extending from one of the frame members F and is connected by a link I25 to a rock arm I26. The rock arm I26 is secured to the shaft I I6.

My card kick-out mechanism includes a boss I rotatably mounted on a stationary shaft I29, two of which are provided in the machine, forming part of the framework of the wrapping machine. The boss I30 is confined against axial movement on the shaft I29 by collars I33. A kick-out arm I3I in the form of a rod extends from the boss I30 in a direction transverse of the conveyor chain 58. At its outer end the arm I3I has a pair of fingers I34 extending upwardly. The arm I3I is normally biased'upwardly by a light spring I35 connected at its lower end to the arm and at'its upper end to a screw I36 or the like mounted in a side bar I3'I for the conveyor pockets 60.

The boss I30 has a downwardly extending arm I38 provided with a slot I39. A rotatable stud I40 is mounted on a lever I4I secured to the rock shaft II6. A red I42 is Screwed into the stud I40 and extends loosely through the slot I39. A pair of collars I43 and I44 is mounted on the rod I42.

Practical operation In the operation of my card kick-out device, assuming the shaft 24 in rotation, the pockets will successively come to a position of alignment with the card kick-out fingers I34 and stop momentarily at such position due to the star wheel actuation provided for the conveyor 58. During the time of movement of the pockets from one position to the next the operating parts will assume the position shown in Figure 2, with the arm I23 toward the left and the collar I43 accordingly toward the right. The collar I 43 engages the arm I38 to lower the fingers I34 below the lower surface of the card C so that the fingers do not interfere with the cards during such movement. After the pockets have stopped the gear I26 has advanced clockwise from the position of Figure 2 so that the spring I35 is permitted to raise the arm I3I and the spring is operated in this capacity during most of the revolution of the drive shaft 24. Figure 3 shows the opposite extreme of movement of the rod I42.

When the spring I32 raises the arm'I3I it will cause the fingers I34 to tip a card 0, as shown by solid lines in Figure 3, to such an inclined position that it will slide out of the pocket 60 If, however, there is an article such as a candy'bar B, as shown by dotted lines in this figure, on the card C, the weight of the candy bar will over come the tension of the spring I32 so that the fingers I34 cannot lift it. Thus, any cards unoccupied by the candy bars are discharged from the machine instead of proceeding to wrapping position and effecting a wrapping operation performed on a card that does not have a bar supported on it.

From the foregoing description it is obvious how-I have provided automatic means to remove empty cards from the conveyor 58 and provided ,such means automatically operable, depending upon the absence of a bar from the card. The kick-out device is so tied in with the operation of the wrapping machine that it is automatically moved out of position where it will interfere with the cards and bars as they advance from one position to the next,

Some changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts of my device without departing from the real spirit and purpose of my invention, and it is my intention to cover by my claim any modified forms of structure or use of mechanical equivalents which may be reasonably included within its scope without sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

I claim as my invention:

In a device for supplying articles to a wrapping machine, means for feeding articles and elongated cards to wrapping position comprising an article and card conveyor having channel shaped pockets arranged transversely of the direction of movement of the conveyor, said channel shaped pockets being adapted to receive the cards, means to remove any cards from said pockets which do not support an article, said last means including an arm pivotally mounted and extending transversely relative to said conveyor, said arm having an upwardly extending finger beneath one end of a card when the conveyor is in stationary position due to stopping of the article and card conveyor, said finger being adapted to engage the card at a predetermined point and tip the card while continuing to engage the card substantially adjacent said point until the card assumes such an inclined position that the card slides endwise by gravity off the conveyor, resilient means to normally render such card removing means operable, said card removing means being rendered inoperable by the weight of an article on said card overcoming the resilient means, means for driving said conveyor intermittently, and means for periodically withdrawing said finger from card contacting position during the time the cards and articles and their conveyor are in motion.

OSCAR SANDBERG. 

